Bruins hope to bolster playoff chances vs. Maple Leafs
Hockey Betting Lines
03/09/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to bolster their playoff hopes
when they visit the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's clash between
Original Six clubs at Air Canada Centre.
The Bruins are currently holding onto the eighth and final postseason berth in
the East with 69 points -- giving them just a two-point edge over the ninth-
seeded New York Rangers.
Despite being fourth in the Northeast Division, the Bruins are just 10 points
behind first-place Buffalo. Toronto is last in the division, as well as the
conference, with 52 points.
The Bruins have won three of four meetings against Toronto this year and have
taken 10 of 12 overall. Boston has also notched seven victories in its last
nine trips to Air Canada Centre.
Boston had a two-game win streak halted Sunday in Pittsburgh, losing 2-1 to
the Penguins in a game that saw Bruins forward Marc Savard suffer an injury on
a dangerous hit.
Savard suffered a Grade Two concussion late in regulation on a blind-side hit
to the head by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke. Cooke caught an unsuspecting Savard
with a shoulder moments after he released a shot from the high slot. Savard
lay motionless for several minutes while being attended to by the medical
staff. He was eventually taken off the ice on a stretcher and is out
indefinitely.
No penalty was called on the play, but the league is still investigating the
hit and a suspension could be levied against Cooke as early as today.
"A guy like that has to be suspended," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said of
Cooke. "And that's the way I see it, because it's an elbow to the head from
the blind side. That's exactly the example they show of what we've got to get
out of this game."
Savard has missed 23 of Boston's 64 games this year, mostly due to foot and
knee injuries. Despite missing time, he is tied for third on the Bruins with
33 points.
Blake Wheeler had the lone goal for Boston on Sunday and Tim Thomas was
saddled with the loss despite making 31 saves.
The Bruins are playing the third test of a seven-game road trip tonight.
Boston is just 15-11-5 as the visiting club this season and had won five
straight as the guest before Sunday's loss.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs were defeated for the fifth time in six games on
Sunday, losing a 3-1 decision in Philadelphia.
Nikolai Kulemin scored the lone goal for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three
of four since the NHL returned from its Olympic break. Jean-Sebastien Giguere
made 22 stops in the loss.
Tonight marks the first of three straight on home ice for Toronto, which is
just 11-14-5 as the host this year.
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What Is the Point Spread?
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
How to Read Point Spreads
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
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